HOUSTON - Memphis broke open a close game midway through the second half on the way to an 89-55 win against the University of Houston men's basketball team Saturday night inside Hofheinz Pavilion.

Trailing by double digits for the last part of the first half, the Cougars continued to battle into the second period and moved to within 47-39 when junior forward Leon Gibson hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14:54 left in the game.

Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the way. The Tigers used an 18-0 run during the next 8:38 and never looked back in taking the win.

With the loss, the Cougars fell to 9-8 overall and 1-3 in C-USA play. Houston also saw its six-game, home winning streak snapped. Memphis improved to 12-5 overall and 3-0 in C-USA games.

Sophomore forward Alandise Harris led the Cougars with 18 points, thanks to a 12-of-17 effort from the free throw line. Junior guard Jonathon Simmons, making his first appearance off the bench, poured in 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added three steals.

Memphis guard Chris Crawford led all players with 19 points, while Joe Jackson came off the bench with 16 points and five assists. Will Barton added 14 points with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Tarik Black totaled 10 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.

UP NEXT
The Cougars return to action at 7 p.m., Wednesday, when they meet C-USA rival SMU in Moody Coliseum in Dallas. From there, the team closes out the month of January with a pair of home games against East Carolina (Jan. 21) and UTEP (Jan. 28).

Fans can hear all Cougar Basketball games live on SportsTalk 790 AM with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action and Cougar legend Elvin Hayes providing analysis. The pregame show is slated to begin 15 minutes before tipoff.

Fans can follow live scoring by clicking the "GameTracker" link at UHCougars.com.

Fans also can hear live audio and watch live video via Cougar All-Access at UHCougars.com. Fans should note that a charge is required to watch and hear streamed games on-line.

TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are now on sale at the Houston Athletics Ticket Office. In addition, fans also can purchase the Conference USA Pack, which includes eight exciting league games.

In the C-USA Pack, fans can buy Reserved seating to all Saturday men's home games for $99 with General Admission tickets available for only $75.

With the purchase of the Family Fun Plan, fans receive 2 adult and 2 youth general admission tickets to all Saturday C-USA games for only $159. Tickets for additional children are available for only $40 each in this Plan.

Fans can purchase their tickets by calling 713-GO-COOGS (462-6647) or by visiting UHCougars.com and clicking the Tickets tab and following the appropriate links or by clicking the Tickets link here.